AuthorTopic: The real football (Read 2901 times)

Figured we should probably have a thread devoted to football/soccer, since that seems to be a popular subject on the boards.

Last night, I had the opportunity to spend the evening with a bunch of Mackems. That's right...Sunderland is in town, their pre-season tour of America taking them through my little corner of the world. They played a friendly against an all-star selection of the four profession teams in the state. After 60 minutes, they abandoned the match because it was twice delayed by lightining.

On the Chelsea side of things, I'm glad that Hernan Crespo has apparently fucked off to Milan. Looks like we'll be getting that Droghba guy from Marseille...and we'll see if those 30 goals last year was just a fluke.

Logged

"I believe that in the long view of history, the British Empire will be remembered only for two things. The game of football, and the expression 'fuck off.'" - Sir Richard Turnbull

Can't help feeling that Drogba could end up as "Crespo Mk II" if Chelski do actually sign him?

Seems to be a little bit of a trend where the "big names stars" who leave the teams that made them stars in the first place end up as subs bench fodder - or a shadow of their former self - at their new club?

In Southampton news, it now looks likely that we're going to miss out on DeMarcus Beasley, with most reports now saying he is about to sign for PSV Eindhoven in Holland? However, we ARE still in for the Egyptian striker Mido. (Which would give us more strikers than we actually need, so maybe its "Bye bye, Beattie?)

Yeah, when a player comes out of nowhere and scores 30 goals in a season, and then gets a £27 million price tag slapped on him, it's natural that the phrase "flash in the pan" comes to mind. I'm definitely not going into this transaction with unrealistic expectations. If Droghba scores 20 goals, I'll be happy. If he scores 25, I'll be thrilled. If he scores 10, I won't be surprised in the least (and he'll be overpriced).

Doesn't surprise me that PSV will end up with Beasley...MLS put a $4 million price tag (I think) on him, and the numbers that PSV have offered have been higher than Southampton's, probably thanks to all the money PSV got from - um, Chelsea - in the Robben and Kezman transfers.

There's no question Mido is talented, but he's a bit of a headcase. The guy was run out of Ajax because he attacked a teammate with a pair of scissors.

Logged

"I believe that in the long view of history, the British Empire will be remembered only for two things. The game of football, and the expression 'fuck off.'" - Sir Richard Turnbull

I love French football, but the league standard in general is only slightly higher than the Scottish nonsense.

Good luck to the guy if Chelsea do sign him. I'd personally love it, as all the ignorant Headhunter twats in the old shed-end are likely to have some name pronunciation difficulties as usual, and end up wearing shirts with "Dogbra" printed on the back.

Haha! Fucking Chelsea - They weren't always a rich, "sexy" club. They've gained loads of new supporters over the last few years, I think since the Hoddle revolution. Now they are worth mega-bucks, their "support" has rocketed, many of those fans having never even visited the Bridge.

I've got two words that, to me, sum up the pre-fashionable/wealthy Chelski:

LONDON - Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Gadhafi could buy promoted English Premier League soccer club Crystal Palace, The Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday.

advertisement

It said Gadhafi, who owns a 7.5 percent stake in Italian club Juventus, has not made an offer yet but has shown interest in the small south London club that surprisingly won the promotion playoffs in May.

“I’ve been told that Gadhafi and his son (Al-Saadi) are interested in acquiring Palace,” the Guardian quoted the club’s chairman Simon Jordan as saying.

Jordan said there had been no formal approach but if there was “I’d consider it ... If it’s beneficial to the club it will be considered.”

Having taken over the club four years ago when it was in administration and overseen a remarkable recovery capped by the team’s unexpected promotion, Jordan has said he wants to quit but will only do so when the right buyer is found.

Jordan said there might be many people in Britain who would object to Gadhafi being involved in an English football club given the two countries’ long enmity.

Ties between Britain and Libya warmed this year after the latter agreed to pay damages for the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people.

Jordan added, however, that “many people might see (Russian oil tycoon) Roman Abramovich’s involvement at Chelsea as less than palatable but he is moving the club forward.”

Did anyone else catch the Copa America final this past Sunday? Throughout the entire match Argentina pretty much dominated Brazil, which appeared to be fielding a B-side, until an injury time goal tied the two teams. Argentina then managed to soundly fudge their first two kicks in the shootout.Also, listening to the game being called by spanish-speaking announcers always makes for an entertaining time.